


Wind Up to Wind Down

by crzy_wrtr10



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Based on Gorgeous Artwork, Centaur AU, Centaurs, Emphasis on Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Let Shiro Nap in Meadows, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Play Fighting, Rolling in Mud Puddles, Tag Wranglers are The Best, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 18:22:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12587872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crzy_wrtr10/pseuds/crzy_wrtr10
Summary: Laughing, Keith streaked through the grass andsworehe could feel the ground shake as Shiro pounded after him. He slowed a little; Shiro made a grab for him. Keith danced away, delighted by the carefree grin on Shiro’s face.“You little shit!” Shiro laughed.“Takes one to know one!”Centaur AU: Keith convinces Shiro to go for a run with him in an effort to get him to relax. Rolling in a mud puddle may or may not also be involved.





	Wind Up to Wind Down

**Author's Note:**

> I need another fandom like I need $20K more in student loan debt, and yet here I am, having fallen headfirst into Voltron while contemplating going back for my masters in education. 
> 
> Anyway. 
> 
> I came across [THIS POST](http://what-the-floofin.tumblr.com/post/165744363751/let-my-boys-be-boys) and [THIS POST](http://what-the-floofin.tumblr.com/post/165722162126/youve-spoken-right-to-my-heart-my-soul-m-y) by the completely fabulous [what-the-floofin](http://what-the-floofin.tumblr.com) on tumblr and [Faindriart](http://faindriart.tumblr.com) is an enabler of the best kind while also a veritable fountain of horse knowledge. So have 1600 words of a centaur AU. **Centaur looks, original design concepts, and art are not mine - please follow the links, check out what-the-floofin, and shower her in the praise she deserves. This story is based on her wonderful artwork.**
> 
> I have never really been around anything equestrian in my life, and if I got anything horrendously wrong, please do let me know. 
> 
> The T rating is for Shiro's potty mouth in this one, because better safe than sorry. 
> 
> Enjoy. :)

They desperately, desperately needed a break. 

Keith didn’t have to strain to hear Shiro’s heavy tread up and down the hallway, his shoes echoing on the metal floor plating. When Shiro’s stress level was high, he didn’t sleep well - _that_ much hadn’t changed since his days at the Garrison. Keith had been the one to notice it then. 

Now it was apparent to everyone. 

Barring any unexpected distress beacons, Galra sightings, or anything else their current part of the universe would like to throw at them, Allura had assured them they had some downtime coming. 

Keith leaned his torso on the bed, all four legs folded underneath him. He listened to Shiro pace back up the hallway. 

Yeah. They really, really needed a break.

* * *

Keith kept his sigh of relief to himself when the castleship touched down in a wide field not far from a large village. He shrugged into his jacket, tail flicking as he followed the others outside.

Hunk had the reusable bags he used for groceries looped over his shoulder, most likely intent on finding some new ingredient in the village market. Lance practically pranced in place next to him, clearly impatient to get going. Pidge adjusted her glasses. 

“According to the database, they’ve just come through the rainy season,” Allura said. “Things might still be a little…damp.”

Shiro shifted his front hooves, his shoulders tight with tension. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us, Shiro?” Lance asked over his shoulder. 

“Somebody’s gotta hold down the fort.” He crossed his arms over his chest with a shrug. “It’s fine.”

“Mullet?”

Keith’s attention snapped over to Lance. He glared, which seemed to be all the answer Lance needed, and the four of them headed in the direction of the village. 

“Are you sure, Shiro? I’m more than capable of keeping an eye on things here,” Coran said softly. 

“I…that’s…” Shiro struggled to find the right words, and glanced over at Keith.

“Come run with me,” Keith blurted. 

Confusion flitted across Shiro’s face, quickly replaced by a blatant longing. How long had it been since he’d had a chance to stretch his legs, just for the hell of it? When was the last time he’d been able to run and play fight? 

Before he’d left for Kerberos, definitely. That last night in the desert with Keith then, probably. 

Shiro looked at Coran. 

“Go on,” Coran said, complete with shooing motions. “We’ll come get you if anything happens.”

Keith took that as sufficient permission and literally ran with it, slapping his palm off Shiro’s hindquarter on his way by. Shiro startled with a yelp, then dropped his shoulders, launching himself forward with his powerful hind legs. 

Laughing, Keith streaked through the grass and _swore_ he could feel the ground shake as Shiro pounded after him. He slowed a little; Shiro made a grab for him. Keith danced away, delighted by the carefree grin on Shiro’s face. 

“You little shit!” Shiro laughed. 

“Takes one to know one!”

He darted closer, and his longer reach let him get a fistful of Keith’s jacket at the shoulder. Keith ducked, dropping nearly to his haunches. Shiro laughed, then yelled as he was left holding Keith’s empty jacket. 

Keith wrapped his arms around his midsection and laughed so hard it hurt. 

Shiro lunged again; Keith skittered backward. 

They went around and around the field, tussling like yearlings. Keith could tell that while Shiro had let go a little, he was also very careful where he put his hooves – which were the size of dinner plates – and very cognizant of the size difference between the two of them. Keith, a buckskin mustang, was much smaller than Shiro, who topped out both hand-height and scale-wise being a ban’ei. 

Winding down eventually, Shiro trotted a little ways away, down a short incline they’d initially given a wide berth. 

And directly into a super-size mud puddle. 

He pawed at the dirty water with his hoof. 

“Clothes, Shiro,” Keith called, dropping his jacket and black t-shirt where they wouldn’t get soaked. 

Shiro all but threw his vest, shirt, and gloves at Keith. He plowed back into the puddle, his feathering already dingy. Keith watched him turn in a tight circle a few times, water flying _everywhere_ , and then he folded abruptly to his knees in the front, his back legs quickly following suit. His tail flicked. Hugging his arms to his chest, he flopped over onto his side with a deep groan. 

“Feel good?” Keith called, stepping closer. 

“Yeah.” He strained his neck to look over his shoulder, mud spattered up the side of his face. “Feels really, really good.”

“I bet.”

Rolling back to center, Shiro then rolled the other way to coat his other side. At that point, he let his arms flop out. Keith, at the very edge of the puddle, stepped in far enough to coat from his hooves to his hocks, and could privately admit that the coolness of the water felt like heaven. 

“You are a _mess_ ,” he said, looking down at Shiro, who was now covered tail to ears in mud. His white fringe had so far escaped the carnage, but Keith wouldn’t hold out for it to survive much longer. 

“It’s _great_ ,” Shiro moaned. He kicked his left back leg, utterly happy. 

“You are not going to say that when it dries.”

“I don’t care. I seriously don’t fucking care.”

When Shiro finally stood, he was more swamp monster than centaur. But he looked so _relaxed_ that Keith gave in to the pleading eyes peering out at him through a layer of mud and sank down into the puddle. He tipped his head back with a sigh.

It was _awesome_. 

“Yeah,” Shiro murmured, tromping his way in again and sending spatters of mud up Keith’s bare back. 

“Move, ya goob, so I can roll.” When Shiro did just that, Keith flopped sideways. “Damn, that’s good.”

When they were done covering themselves in mud, they gingerly picked up their clothes and retreated into the field back toward the castle. If anybody needed to find them, they wouldn’t have to look far once they got up the short hill. 

Keith tossed his jacket and shirt down away from him, then folded his legs gracefully. He rubbed his front hooves together; mud flaked away, and he casually inspected both his shoes. Shiro settled next to him, sprawled out on his side with his head pillowed on his non-metal arm. Keith ran his fingers through Shiro’s hair; he relaxed further.

It didn’t take nearly as long as it normally would for Shiro to drop off into sleep. 

He turned his face to the sun and soaked it in, his fingers never stopping their motion through Shiro’s hair. 

Sometime much later, Keith jolted out of a light doze at the sound of voices coming up the hill. He got hooves underneath him, verified Shiro was still sound asleep, and went to intercept the rest of Team Voltron before they could wake him up. 

“Hey, Keith – what the hell, dude?” Lance changed pitch mid-sentence. 

“Keep your damn voice down,” he hissed, crossing his arms over his chest and dutifully ignoring the mud flakes sloughing off his skin. 

“Were you _rolling_ in something?” Pidge asked.

“Where’s Shiro?” Lance peered around. “Coran said he was with you.”

“That’s because he is.” Keith fought to rein in his temper. “He’s napping, and if you wake him up I swear to God I will kick you into next _Thursday_.”

Lance put his hands up and high stepped it back a few paces. “Easy, Mullet. We’ll be quiet.”

Keeping their voices to a murmur, Keith led them back up the hill. To his great relief, Shiro hadn’t moved from where Keith had left him. Nor did Shiro stir when Keith resettled next to him. 

“Did you guys seriously roll in _mud_?” Hunk asked. 

“Went for a run, got hot, and rolled in a puddle.” Keith shrugged. “He needed it.”

“You’ve heard him, too, then?” Pidge spread a shirt – Keith couldn’t tell whether it was his or Shiro’s – over his lower back, eased herself to the ground, and draped her torso over it. 

“His middle of the night wandering? Yeah.”

“Coran’s gonna have to hose you off before he lets you inside,” Hunk pointed out. 

“Probably.”

They stayed out in the field for the rest of the afternoon, the four of them talking softly while Shiro slept on. It was obvious he’d needed the rest, and as much as Keith hate to wake him up, they really did need to head back. 

He kept one hand in Shiro’s hair and the other on his prosthetic forearm. Leaning down near Shiro’s ear, he said, “Shiro, time to get up.”

It took him three tries before Shiro’s eyes blinked open. 

“Keith?” he slurred. 

“Yep.” Keith ruffled his hair. “And Pidge, Lance, and Hunk, too.”

Shiro frowned. “Wha’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. But it’s getting late, and we should get back.”

He blinked again. It took a few moments for him to coordinate his limbs enough to move, and he swayed once he was upright. Hunk stepped in close to buoy him up; Shiro threw his right arm carefully over Hunk’s shoulders for balance. 

“You are gross, man,” Hunk said. “You are absolutely _covered_.”

“Was a good idea at the time,” Shiro murmured. 

Keith walked beside them on Shiro’s other side, their discarded clothes in his arms. They’d need to be washed, anyway, even if he’d saved them from the worst of the mud earlier. Pidge and Lance followed behind them.

“Was it worth it?” Hunk gave Allura and Coran a cheerful wave once they were close enough. 

“Mmm yeah.” Shiro yawned hugely. “Definitely.”

Snorting, Keith looked at the Alteans in time to watch their expressions go from mildly relieved to bug-eyed at the sight of so much dried muck and mud. 

Yeah, it was _definitely_ worth it.


End file.
